Supreme Court allows reduced bail for poor detainees amid COVID-19 emergency

The Supreme Court has allowed reduced bail and release on own recognizance as modes of release for indigent detainees during the public health emergency brought about by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

In an administrative circular released Thursday, Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta said the development was in consideration of the "urgent need to further decongest our detention facilities, especially during this time of public health emergency" and "to promote social and restorative justice."

The new guidelines, applicable only during the public health emergency period, are as follows:

1. For those charged with a crime punishable with the maximum period of reclusion temporal or 12 years and one day to 20 years, bail will be computed by getting the medium period multiplied by P3,000 for every year of imprisonment;

2. For those charged with a crime punishable with the maximum period of prision mayor or six years and one day to 12 years, bail will be computed by getting the medium period multiplied by P2,000 for every year of imprisonment;

3. For those charged with a crime punishable with the maximum period of prision correccional or six months and one day to six years, bail will be computed by getting the medium period multiplied by P1,000 for every year of imprisonment; and

4. Those charged with a crime punishable by arresto mayor or one month and one day to six months, and arresto menor or one day to 30 days, may be released on their own recognizance.

Detainees who have not been arraigned should first be arraigned through videoconferencing before being granted bail or recognizance. Detainees on trial can also apply for reduced bail, unless they have been jailed for a period as long as the minimum penalty for their alleged crime, in which case they can be released on their own recognizance.

The circular does not apply to inmates already serving sentence.

The circular states the courts may still deny applications for bail or recognizance "if there are reasonable grounds based on prevailing jurisprudence and existing rules," or impose additional bail, add conditions, or cancel bail for those who will be convicted, pending their appeal.

Earlier, the SC's Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) reminded lower courts to order the release of detainees who have already served the minimum penalty for their alleged offense and to provisionally dismiss cases that have been delayed due to the absence of essential witnesses.

Several groups have called for the release of vulnerable detainees and convicted prisoners amid the COVID-19 pandemic, fearing outbreaks in highly overcrowded jails and prisons would become deadly.

More than 20 detainees have also petitioned the SC for their temporary release in a still-pending case.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology said last Tuesday that 233 detainees and jail personnel at three city jails in the country have tested positive for COVID-19.

The Bureau of Corrections, on the other hand, has reported 50 COVID-19 cases and three deaths among inmates and one case among staff members.—AOL, GMA News